Power-driven earth auger



May 21, 1946. 1.. E. BECK POWER DRIVEN EARTH AUGER Filed Aug. 10, 1943 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Lf. BECK May 21, 1946. BECK 2,400,478

POWER DRIVEN EARTH AUGER Filed Aug. 10, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VENTOR.

Y L.E.BEC/1 Mm My).

May ZI, 1946; L. E. BECK POWER DRIVEN EARTH AUGER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FiledAug. 10, 1945 IN V EN TOR.

Patented May 21, 1946 UNITED, STATE s PATENT orrlca POWER-DRIVEN EARTHAUGER Lester E. Beck, near Danville, Iowa Application August 10, 1943,Serial No. 498,131

some: The present invention relates to apparatus r boring holes and moreparticularly to apparatus provision of improved driving means connectingthe power unit with the earth auger. so that the functioning of thelatter is not in the least disturbed by adjusting the positioning of theauger; the provision of elevating means for a power auger which isv soconstructed that, when the auger is lowered by the power lift, thetendency of the hoisting drum to overrun will be neutralized; and suchfurther objects,' advantages, and capabilities as will hereafter appearand as are inherent in the construction disclosed herein. My inventionfurther resides in thecombination, construction, and arrangement ofparts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and, while I have showntherein what is now regarded as the preferred embodiment of thisinvention, I desirethe same to be understood as illustrative only andnot to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming a part hereof,

Fig. 1 represents a fragmentary elevation, partly in section, showing anapparatus embodying my present invention; v Fig. 2 represents afragmentary part of the structure shown in Fig.1, on a somewhat enlargedscale, the same being taken in the direction shown fragmentarily andillustrated in Fig. 1

as applied to a tractor, shown fragmentarily.

Reference will now be made in greater detail to the annexed drawings fora more complete description of this invention. In these drawings,

the prime mover is denoted in general by the letter M, the auger by theletter A, and the augersupporting framework by the letter F. Thesupporting framework has a plurality of horizontal pipes or bars I whichextend through the bottom part of the prime mover and are securedthereto. From these members rise frame mem bers 2, preferably made ofangle iron, the same being secured in any desired manner to the membersi and being connected together at their top portions by side members 3,for which I prefer to use channel irons.

members I and 2 by means of U-bolts. Crossbars '4 connect the channelirons 3 and serve as supports for bearings 5 in which is mounted thedrive shaft 6. This drive shaft is made up of a plurality of sectionsconnected by universal has'a longitudinally slidable section 8,connected by a universal joint 9 to a short shaft section [0, mounted inbearings II. On the outer end of this shaft section it is a bevel gear12 which meshes with a corresponding bevel gear I3, connected in drivingrelation to the shaft H which is slidably connected with the auger A.Part of the supporting members 2 extend upwardly beyond thecross-members 3 and, with short posts I5, serve as supporting means forthe shafts, pipes, or bars I6. On these are slidably mounted guidemembers I'I, shown in the present instance as sleeves surrounding shaftsit. These guide members are connected by a plate It through whichextends an eye -l9, engaging in an eye 20. The eye 2|! extends through ayoke member 2 I, secured at its ends to bars 22 forming a part of theaugersupporting framework. The means connecting members 2| and 22 arepreferably U-bolts, shown most clearly in Fig. 6.

Passing through the upper ends of a pair of legs 2 is a shaft 23 to oneend of which is secured an adjusting lever 24 by means of which theguiding members I! may be adjusted on the bars or rods I 6; An arm 25extends upwardly from the shaft 23 and is connected by linkage means 26and post 21 to the plate 18. A sector 28 serves to hold the handle 24 inadjusted position. This sector 28 may be held in rigid position, as bybeing secured to a rigidly mounted sleeve 29 surrounding the shaft 23.Any other suitable means for this purpose. may be provided, theforegoing being given merely as an illustration of how this I prefer toconnect the to the cross-members 3, are connected to a frame member 3|secured to the .outer ends of the bars i5. It will thus be seen that theouter extremities of these bars are rigidly supported from the Isupporting framework.

The hand lever 24, through its linkage 25 and auger-suspendingmechanism, is used for adjusting the auger farther from and closer tothe tractor. so that if the driver, in approaching the position where heis to make a post hole, falls by a few inches to get exactly the rightdistance from the location, the auger can be moved out from the tractoror in toward the tractor until it is in exactly the correct line.Adjustment of the auger forward and back is accomplished by moving thetractor the required direction and amount so as to bring the augerexactly over the marked spot.

A guide track comprising the upright parallel bar 32 and connectingcross-members 33 is secured to the supporting loop 22 and thereforeswings therewith and maintains a fixed relationship thereto as the eye20 swings in the eye l5. It will therefore be seen that the auger A, theloop 32, 33, and all the connecting structure supported by the eye 20will act as a pendulum and will hang substantially vertical when free ofthe ground, even though the prime mover should not be standing level.

Shafts 34 and 34A extend through the uprights 32 and have sprockets 35mounted thereon, these sprockets supporting a chain 35 which isconnected to a carriage 31. The shaft 34 has a sprocket 34a thereon atits outer end which is connected by a chain 34b to a sprocket 34c,rigidly connected to a shaft 34d which has a hand wheel 38 mountedthereon and which may, if desired,

.be used in raising and lowering the carriage 31 to raise and lower theauger A and for furnishing any pressure needed for forcing the augerinto the ground. Rollers 39 are mounted upon opposite sides of thecarriage 31 and engage opposite edges of the uprights 32, and thisserves to guide the carriage in its vertical movements. There is also apulley 40 mounted on the carriage, as shown in Figs. 1 and 5. A cable 4|has one end secured to the plate i8 and this cable then passes under thepulley 40, up over the pulley 42, and transversely to a pulley 43, fromwhich it passes downwardly to a drum 44, to which it is connected andupon which it is wound, when power from the prime mover is used to drivethe shaft 45 upon which the drum 44 is mounted, providing the clutch 45is actuated as described below.

A clutch 46 has clutch-operating mechanism 41 and this clutch is used toconnect the drum 44 and shaft 45 in driving relation. A sprocket chain48 connects the sprocket 49 and 50 upon the shafts 45 and in drivingrelation. These shafts are mounted in bearings secured to the frame 52which is pivotally connected at 53 to the supporting framework. On theshaft 5| is rigidly mounted a belt pulley 54 which may be made to engagea belt 55 by swinging the frame 52 to the right, as viewed in Fig. 3.This swinging motion is caused by the operator by pulling on the rod 55which is connected to the crank 51 carried by'the bottom part of theframe 52, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the crank 51 is connected to a,clutch-actuating lever 59 which acts upon the actuating member 55 forthe clutch actuator 41. It is believed clear from Figs. 2 and acoom'sforced toward the clutch 45,

the actuator 41 to inter-engage the parts of the and this will causeclutch. Simultaneously, pulling upon the rod 55 will swing the frame 52toward the belt 55 and carry the belt-pulley 54 into'engagementtherewith and, if the belt is being driven, the shafts 5i and 45 will berotated and the drum 44 driven.

It is apparent that, if the frame 52 is moved laterally toward the belt55, it will cause engagement of the pulley 54, with the belt. This willcause driving'of the shaft 45 but, without actu- 3 that when the rod 55is pulled outwardly, as I ation of the clutch-actuating lever 55, theclutch will not be engaged to drive the drum 44. This, then, serves as asafety means to prevent inadvertent lifting of the auger, since it isonly by pulling on the rod 55 that such lifting can be effectuated.Lifting of the auger can be accomplished only by both swinging the frame52 and actuating the clutch 45, since either one alone will not causethis result.

A belt pulley 52 is mounted on the power takeoff of the prime mover anda belt pulley 53 on the shaft 5. The belt 55 connects these two beltpulleys and thus power is transmitted from the prime mover, through thebelt 55, to the pulley 53 and from this to the shaft 5, when the clutchconnected therewith is actuated. This clutch is actuated by means of anactuator member 54 engaged by the conical surface of the actuator member55. Suitable actuating means 55 is provided for moving this member 55longitudinally to cause engagement of the clutch so as to drive thepulley 53. From the foregoing it is apparent that the clutch connectedwith the drum 44 and that connected with the pulley 53 may be operatedindependently and that, therefore, the auger A and its hoist may beindependently operated or may be operated simultaneously.

It is clear that when the auger is being let down something must beprovided for preventing the drum 44 from running too freely andunwinding too much of the cable 4i. Therefore, a brake mechanism, asshown in Fig. 4, is mounted upon the frame 52 and the pressure thereofupon the outer surface of the clutch 45' may be ad- Justed by adjustingthe compression of the spring 51. Ordinarily, this pressure does notneed to be adjusted but such is provided for to be used when and if thefriction between thebrake and. the clutch 45 should be reduced by wear.This brake is designated by the numeral 58.

It should be understood that the internal crosssection of the shaftsection 5 should be the same shape as the cross-section of the partwhich fits therein and which serves to rotate the section 8. It is alsounderstood that relative longitudinal adjustment of these two sectionsis necessary to maintain driving connection between them when the' augerA and its supporting structure are adjusted longitudinally of the bar l5by the handle 24, aswell as when the auger swings horizontally by reasonof its suspension i9, 20. It is clear from Figs. 1 and 5 that thesupporting elements 15 and H constitute a supporting'framework for thebearings i I supporting shaft section ID. This supporting framework issecured-to the uprights 32 and therefore constitutes a-rigid part of theauger-supporting frame. A roughly ushaped member 12 is rigidly connectedwith the carrier 51 and rises and falls therewith. It is also rigidlyconnected with the plate 13 to which the upper end of the auger A isrotatably attached. A hook 14 is pivotally mounted on a rigidcross-member 15. This hook 14 is provided for the suspension ing theequipment The auger-bit 16 lower end of the auger body so that it may bedetached therefrom, if such should benecessary. The rod I4 is preferablyangular in cross-section and is'slidable vertically through the gear i3and the body of the auger, the cross-section of the rod l4 and of theinternal cavity of the auger body, as well as the opening through thegear i3, being substantiallythe same shape and size, so that drivingpower transmitted through the shaft 8 may be delivered to the gear l3,shaft l4. and auger A for the driving of the latter. I prefer that thishaft be square in cross-section. The universal Joints 1 and 8 make itpossible for the auger, suspended freely from the eye l9, to assume avertical position and tube driven into the earth in a vertical directioneasily and with great speed. it having been found possible with thisapparatus to bore from eighty to one hundred or more holes per hour,-'toa depth of four feet. The mechanism for adjustingthe positioning of theauger is a considerable factor in this speed. Also, the ability tooperate the auger-.- rotating mechanism-and the auger-lifting mechanismindependently or con-jointly is also a considerable factor in the makingpossible of the great speed of operation with this machine. If theweight of the auger A should be changed in any way, as by changing itssize, it, may be necessary to change the location of the boring meanswith reference to its support. This is accomplished by loosening thenuts of the U-bolts 22a and adjusting yoke 2i and bars 22 relatively toeach other so as to make the auger cally.

In case the ground is hard it may be necessary to use the hand wheel 38to cause feeding of the auger into the ground.

When the operator of the machine is bgrirrg a row of holes, as, forexample, for a fence around an ordnance plant or af farm, he drives histrace tor alongside the row of location previously marked by theengineer and stops at a location such thatthe auger is approximatelyover the marked spot. Then his helper operates the hand lever 2| to movethe suspended system either toward or from the tractor so as toget theauger exactly over the mark. When this spot is reached, the cable n ispermitted to unwind from the drum 44, thus allowing the auger to descendto the ground. Next, the mechanism at 64, 65, 66 is actuated to engagethe belt pulley 83 with the shaft 6 to cause rotation thereof and of theauger A. Normally this auger cuts its way into time made of thehandground without any use being particularly hard wheel 38 but, if theground is and pressure is needed to cause the auger to cut into theground, the handwheel 38 can he turned so as to lower the carriage 31and, with it, the

hang vertispirit of this invention as set forth herein and in theappended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim: 1. In an apparatus for thepurpose described, having a prime mover provided with power takeoffmeans; the combination of an earth auger, a

' drive shaft for rotating saidauger, a drive belt shaft and the pulley,

connecting the power take-off and the shaft in driving relation, a beltpulley on said shaft over which the drive belt runs, a clutch forconnecting and disconnecting the driving relation of the apair of shaftsparallel to said drive shaft, a pulley on one of said pair of shaftsengaging said drive belt with variable degrees of pressure, a windingdrum on the other of said pair of shafts, a clutch for connecting saiddrum and its shaft in driving relation, a brake connected with said drumto prevent overrunning thereof, and means for simultaneously increasingthe pressure of said pulley on the drive belt and engaging the secondclutch whereby to cause winding motion of the drum.

2. In an apparatus-for the purpose described, having a prime mover,provided with a power take-off means; the combination of an earth auger,a cable connected thereto for raising and lowering theauger, a driveshaft for rotating said I auger, a drive belt for connecting said shaftand frame 12 to which the auger is connected. When the hole of requireddepth, for example, four feet,

, has been bored, the rod 58 is pulled to cause driving engagement ofthe pulley 54 with the belt 55 and to cause-driving engagement of theclutch an earth auger carried by the prime mover in. driving relation, apair of shafts substantially parallel to the first shaft, a

, frame supporting said parallel shafts in swinging said belt so thattheyrelation with reference to may be caused to approach and recedetherefrom, a pulley on one of said pair of shafts to be moved intodriving relation to said belt by the'swinging of said frame, a windingdrum on the second of said pair of shafts, a clutch for connecting saiddrum and its shaft in driving relation, a driving connection betweensaid pair of shafts, and means for swinging said frame and for caus ingengagement of said clutch whereby to cause the cable to be wound on thedrum for the raising of the auger, the swinging of the frame carryingthe pulley into engagement with the belt and thereby causing rotation ofsaidparallel shafts and the drum.

3. An earth-boring attachment for a tractor having a power take-off,comprising a framework for attachment to the tractor frame, a drivingshaft rotatably mounted in said framework, a clutch-controlled drivepulley on said shaft, a belt connecting said pulley with the powertakeoff of the tractor for the driving of said shaft, said framework anddriven by said shaft, a swinging frame hingedly connected to theframework-and having a pair of shafts rotatably mounted therein, apulley on one of said shafts in a position to engage said belt when theswinging frame is moved toward the belt, a driving connection betweensaid pair of shafts, a winding drum on the second of said pair ofshafts, a clutch for drivingly connecting saiddrum to its shaft. meansfor substantially 48. This cause winding rotation of the drum ll,resulting in lifting the auger and the dirt carried thereby. It has beenfound in actual tests that holes can be bored in five seconds and at therate of over one hundred twenty-five (125) holes per hour.

It will of course be understood that the speciflcdescription ofstructure set forth above may be departed from without departing fromthe simultaneously swinging the pulley into engagement with the belt andcausing engagement of the drum clutch, and a cable connecting said drumand the earth auger for causing the raising of the latter when the drumrotates.

4. In a structurefor the purpose indicated, a framework including meansfor mounting the structure upon a motor vehicle, said framework havinguprights and cross-bars adjacent the tops of the uprights, part of theuprights being ati'the right side of the vehicle and part at the leftside thereof, said framework supporting a power shaft adjacent its upperend with the shaft extending transversely of the vehicle and beyond oneside thereof, there being an extension of said framework above the powershaft, a pair of elongated,

supporting members of substantially uniform diameter supported by theextension, parallel to each other and a substantial distance above thepower shaft, a pair of sleeves slidably mounted on said supportingmembers and rigidly connect ed by a plate, a linked, freely swingingsuspension means hanging from said plate, a vertically fixed guidingframe pendulantly supported by said suspension means, movable mechanismfor slid-- 'ing said sleeves along the supporting members for laterallymoving the guiding frame with respect to the vehicle, a verticallymovable auger guided by said guiding frame, and an operable connectionbetween the power shaft and the auger such that the auger may be rotatedby the shaft.

5. In a structure for the purpose indicated, a framework including meansfor mounting the structure upon a motor vehicle, said framework havinguprights and cross-bars adjacent the tops of the uprights, part of theuprights being at the right side of the vehicle and part at the leftside thereof, said framework supporting a power shaft adjacent its upperend with the shaft extending transversely of the vehicle and beyond oneside thereof, there being an extension of said framework above the powershaft, a pair of elongated supporting members of substantially uniformdiameter supported by the extension, parallel to each other and asubstantialv distance above the power shaft, 9. pair of sleeves slidablymounted on said supporting members and rigidly connected by a. plate, alinked, freely swinging suspension means hanging from said plate, avertically fixed guiding frame pendulantly supported by said suspensionmeans, movable mechanism for sliding said sleeves along the supportingmembers for laterally moving the guiding frame withv

